Sorry, but Ben Franklin was a better geek. Not only did he invent, he espoused a philosophy about life that he actively pursued himself. He was brilliant, but he also got out, partied, and lived life. Just about all the others on that list were either recluses or tortured genii. Me? I like Ben.

The fact that not every single of his inventions actually worked doesn't mean he was not an inventor. Leonardo da Vinci was the archetype of the Homo Universalis. He did not believe in specialization, he believed anyone could do anything. He was as much a researcher as he was a painter, as much a writer as he was an inventor, as much a musician as he was an mathematician, engineer, sculptor, anatomist, cartographer or architect. When he chose to do one thing, it didn't mean he wouldn't do another. That's what I love about the guy and the reason I voted for him in the poll.

He's basically the patron saint of the modern open source and collaboration movement. He refused to patent, writing in his autobiography, "... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."

Franklin is THE Slashdot hero! His inventions spanned many different areas and he was a politician, not to mention one with great ideas and his goal truly was the betterment of mankind. He was willing to prove it.